


Things To Do…Sometime Soon…Eventually

by pyroblaze18 (kultiras)



Category: The Incredibles (2004)
Genre: Coda, F/M, Misses Clause Challenge, Yuletide 2012
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-20
Updated: 2012-12-20
Packaged: 2017-11-21 17:56:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,116
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/600548
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kultiras/pseuds/pyroblaze18
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When life gets too overwhelming, it can help to make a list of things to do. A to do list may not be enough to help a stressed superhero though…</p>
            </blockquote>





	Things To Do…Sometime Soon…Eventually

**Author's Note:**

  * For [kalirush](https://archiveofourown.org/users/kalirush/gifts).



> Betaed by the amazing [msraven](http://archiveofourown.org/users/msraven/) and [meinterrupted](http://archiveofourown.org/users/meinterrupted/pseuds/meinterrupted). Any remaining mistakes are definitely my own.
> 
> Some quotes have been taken directly from Pixar's The Incredibles, which I definitely do not own (beyond my dvd anyway).

To Do by the End of Today:

> 1\. Unpack that last box  
>  2\. Try to find a leftover meatloaf recipe for dinner  
>  3\. Pick the kids up from school  
>  4\. Tidy up  
>  5\. Get Bob to help with the kids’ homework  
>  6\. Find a new hobby  
>  7\. Be happy. 

~*~*~

It shouldn’t be this hard to unpack one little box. Just one final box out of the dozens of boxes that they had used to pack up their old life and relocate to their new suburban neighborhood three years ago. It was just a box. 

Except it really _wasn’t_ just a box. This was a symbol of the last three years of their lives, and even a symbol of the years before it. Unpacking this box meant accepting that this was their life now. Life as a happy, normal, civilian family. Not as Mr. Incredible, Elastigirl, and their children, but as the Parrs. 

Helen knew she should be content with her life—she and her husband were alive, healthy, and since no one knew about their former lives, they were safe. And what was it that they said on tv about the supers? _“They are living among us. Average citizens, average heroes. Quietly and anonymously continuing to make the world a better place.”_ Average citizens, average heroes. Average and normal. She could handle that…she just needed to commit to it, and give up her dreams of using her powers outsider her home. She’d been doing it for years already—how was unpacking a stupid box going to change anything?

~*~*~

To Do Before I Lose My Mind or Before the Kids are Grounded for Life

> √ 1. ~~Unpack that last box~~  
>  √ 2. ~~Try to find a leftover meatloaf recipe for dinner~~  
>  √ 3. ~~Pick the kids up from school~~  
>  4\. Tidy up  
>  X 5. ~~Get Bob to help with the kids’ homework~~  
>  6\. Find a new hobby, since Bob has bowling night…  
>  7\. Figure out a way for Dash to use up energy  
>  8\. Talk to Violet about whatever’s bothering her  
>  9\. Buy more plates—too many have broken, and we’re out of extras  
>  10\. Stay calm and don’t yell at Bob when he gets home late.  
>  11\. Be happy. 

Bowling night: the one night every week where she couldn’t rely on Bob to help with anything around the house. Not that she was bitter or anything—he deserved to hang out with his friends, especially Lucius who had gone through the Supers Relocation Program too. It wasn’t Bob’s fault that she didn’t have anything else to occupy her time besides getting the kids to do their homework, play with Jack-Jack, clear away the remnants of dinner, and really, when was Bob going to get home? Bowling had to have finished hours ago. 

But Helen wasn’t as upset about the fact that he had somewhere else to be; what bothered her was what Violet had yelled at her during dinner. _“Normal? What do you know about normal? What does anyone in this family know about normal?”_ As much as she hated to admit it, Helen knew that none of them really knew anything about being normal. Surely it wasn’t “normal” for a person to live life constantly hiding half of who they are from almost everyone. Yes, her family knew about her powers, but they all worked to avoid using them, and she hated it as much as they did. So dealing with the aftermath of dinner—without the one person who stood a chance at understanding her conflicting emotion—was a bit of a challenge. But Helen decided that she’d wait until Bob got home, to figure out how to help the kids cope with living normal lives.

~*~*~

That…just may have been their biggest fight ever. And the worst part was, they meant every word of it. No, that’s not true. Yes, they did mean every word, but the worst part—the absolute worst part—was that Violet and Dash heard and saw them fighting. Every time she closed her eyes in an attempt to sleep, all she could see was their scared and unhappy faces, and all she could hear was her husband’s voice saying, _“Reliving the glory days is better than acting like they didn’t happen!”_

Bob was right. Acting like their glory days never happened—locking the memories away in the basement—it wasn’t right. But neither was ignoring their present day lives—how Bob could just ignore the everyday details of their lives together? He wasn’t engaging with the kids, he wasn’t even paying attention to her when she asked him for help! And then he goes out with Lucius—lying to her in the process—and listens to the police scanner to find a situation in need of some Super help? Meanwhile Helen’s at home trying to take care of the messes, the tears, and the angry kids all by herself. Bob wasn’t the only one who dreamed of escaping the tedious chores and fighting evil, but Helen knew better. That part of their life was over now; the government declared it had to be so. _Average citizens, average heroes._

It may not be the life they pictured on their wedding day, but Helen wasn’t going to let anything ruin her family’s normal life—not even her husband’s desire for something more.

~*~*~

To Do Sometime This Week…or This Month

> √ 1. ~~Unpack that last box~~  
>  √ 2. ~~Try to find a leftover meatloaf recipe for dinner~~  
>  √ 3. ~~Pick the kids up from school~~  
>  √ 4. ~~Tidy up~~  
>  X 5. ~~Get Bob to help with the kids’ homework~~  
>  X 6. ~~Find a new hobby, since Bob has bowling night…~~ No he doesn’t  
>  7\. Figure out a way for Dash to use up energy  
>  8\. Talk to Violet about whatever’s bothering her  
>  √ 9. ~~Buy more plates—too many have broken, and we’re out of extras~~  
>  X 10. ~~Stay calm and don’t yell at Bob when he gets home late.~~  
>  √ 11. ~~Tell Bob about how much I appreciate him working at a job he hates for our sake~~  
>  12\. Have breakfast in bed with Bob after the kids are off to school  
>  13\. Enjoy spending time with my _incredible_ husband  
>  14\. Be happy—getting there! Life is good!

It was almost strange how quickly things changed…suspiciously strange, if Helen was completely honest with herself. Out of nowhere, Bob was suddenly…happy! Instead of plodding his way through day after painful day at work, he had a spring in his step again. Helen hadn’t seen her husband this happy since the days of Mr. Incredible and Elastigirl. He was even starting to look like his superhero self again, as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders, and he was finally free. Even Helen was starting to feel like her old self again—feeling excited by her normal life for the first time since they settled into their suburban lifestyle. 

She and Bob were spending more time together these days than they had in the past couple of years. Helen didn’t know what had led to this change in her husband, but she never wanted to lose this closeness with him. 

~*~*~

To Do Sometime Soon

> √ 1. ~~Unpack that last box~~  
>  √ 2. ~~Try to find a leftover meatloaf recipe for dinner~~  
>  √ 3. ~~Pick the kids up from school~~  
>  √ 4. ~~Tidy up~~  
>  X 5. ~~Get Bob to help with the kids’ homework~~  
>  X 6. ~~Find a new hobby, since Bob has bowling night… No he doesn’t~~  
>  7\. Figure out a way for Dash to use up energy  
>  8\. Talk to Violet about whatever’s bothering her  
>  √ 9. ~~Buy more plates—too many have broken, and we’re out of extras~~  
>  X 10. ~~Stay calm and don’t yell at Bob when he gets home late.~~  
>  √ 11. ~~Tell Bob about how much I appreciate him working at a job he hates for our sake~~  
>  √ 12. ~~Have breakfast in bed with Bob after the kids are off to school~~  
>  √ 13. ~~Enjoy spending time with my _incredible_ husband~~  
>  14\. Find out the truth, no matter how much it hurts.  
>  15\. Figure out what I did wrong  
>  16\. Be happy… Is this even possible anymore?

Edna was as always, a whirlwind—a pint-sized one, but a whirlwind nonetheless. The costumes she’d made for the kids were stunning. The amount of careful thought and planning that went into each piece was almost overwhelming. Her kids would be _safe_ in these costumes. Nothing would give Violet away when she turned invisible, nothing would get destroyed if Dash ended up moving too quickly. And if Jack-Jack ever developed powers, he’d be safe too. 

Helen loved her costume as well, although a cape would have been useful in the event that she needed to use her abilities to act as a makeshift parachute. But after making the mistake of mentioning that to E just once, she was not going to repeat that error by asking for a cape again. Her ears were still ringing from Edna whacking her on the head and scolding her. _“Honestly, have you people learned nothing? Nothing at all? No capes! Nothing good comes from capes. Only death. And we don’t want that now do we, darling? So, no capes!”_

E really had considered just about everything…except for that one, tiny detail: Supers weren’t allowed to use their powers in public. But that all seemed irrelevant when faced with a collection of Edna Mode designs. And it appeared that Bob felt the same way, since he already _had_ his new Edna Mode costume. A costume that he was apparently using already based on what E said. Just what was her husband really up to? Helen couldn’t help but think back to the mysterious phone call she had heard, the way that Bob’s entire behavior had shifted suddenly, the way that he was lying to her. Something was wrong, and it was time for Helen to take action. 

~*~*~

This couldn’t be happening. Not to her. Not to them. How could this be happening? What was she going to do?

Almost immediately, E’s voice came back to her: _“You are Elastigirl! My God! Pull yourself together! What  will you do? Is this a question? Show him you remember that he is Mr. lncredible, and you will remind him who you are! Well, you know where he is. Go! Confront the problem! Fight! Win!”_

 _Pull yourself together. You are Elastigirl._

You. Are. Elastigirl. 

Elastigirl. 

Elastigirl retired years ago. Helen locked away the memories and the costume, and left Elastigirl behind in the basement. But maybe those days weren’t as far gone as Helen had always believed them to be. Maybe, just maybe, it was time for Elastigirl to make a comeback. After all, Elastigirl had been the one to change Mr. Incredible’s mind about working alone all those years ago. Maybe Elastigirl wasn’t just a costume to hide in the basement. 

Elastigirl was strong, confident, and determined to do what was right no matter how hard or impossible it seemed. She was courageous and often fearless, and always managed to keep a level head when things were spinning out of control. But the thing was, Helen and Elastigirl were one and the same. Somehow Helen had lost sight of that over the last few years. Elastigirl may have caught Mr. Incredible’s eye all those years ago, but it was Helen who Bob had fallen in love with. 

It was time she stopped crying about her situation; it was time to go find Bob and settle this once and for all. It was time to become Elastigirl again. 

~*~*~

To Do Sometime Soon

> √ 1. ~~Unpack that last box~~  
>  √ 2. ~~Try to find a leftover meatloaf recipe for dinner~~  
>  √ 3. ~~Pick the kids up from school~~  
>  √ 4. ~~Tidy up~~  
>  X 5. ~~Get Bob to help with the kids’ homework~~  
>  X 6. ~~Find a new hobby, since Bob has bowling night… No he doesn’t~~  
>  7\. Figure out a way for Dash to use up energy  
>  8\. Talk to Violet about whatever’s bothering her  
>  √ 9. ~~Buy more plates—too many have broken, and we’re out of extras~~  
>  X 10. ~~Stay calm and don’t yell at Bob when he gets home late.~~  
>  √ 11. ~~Tell Bob about how much I appreciate him working at a job he hates for our sake~~  
>  √ 12. ~~Have breakfast in bed with Bob after the kids are off to school~~  
>  √ 13. ~~Enjoy spending time with my _incredible_ husband~~  
>  √ 14. ~~Find out the truth, no matter how much it hurts.~~  
>  15\. Figure out what ~~I did wrong~~ we did wrong  
>  16\. Find my husband  
>  17\. Give Bob a piece of my mind.  
>  18\. …Try not to yell at the kids, EVEN THOUGH THEY SNUCK ONTO THE PLANE.  
>  19\. Be happy… ~~Is this even possible anymore?~~ Screw it. Too angry to be happy.

They left the baby at home? They left Jack-Jack with a babysitter? Yes, Kari had babysitting experience, but this was her _baby_. How could they leave him when she was heading into potential danger to find Bob? For that matter, how could they sneak onto the plane? Did the kids really think that the best response to seeing their mother wearing a new version of her Super costume, calling in a favor to get a ride, and heading off to track down her errant husband was to sneak onto her plane and join her?

…huh. Maybe Violet was right—they really _didn’t_ know how to be normal. 

Helen shook her head and focused on the tracking device. Judging by the readings, they were only a few minutes away from Bob.

~*~*~

To Do in the Next 10 Seconds

> 1\. Save the kids.  
>  2\. Figure out a way to get the kids to safety.  
>  3\. Tell Bob I love him  
>  4\. Don’t die  
>  5\. Think! I’m Elastigirl, Dammit! 

They were safe. The plane was gone, but the three of them were safe. The _kids_ were safe and that’s all that mattered. 

What in the world had Bob gotten himself into? And what was she thinking, letting the kids stay onboard with her once she realized that they were there? Even though she knew that at the time it hadn’t made sense to turn around, Helen was filled with a sense of regret that she hadn’t been able to spare them from having this experience in the first place. There may have been no point in agonizing over what ifs, especially when things had turned out reasonably okay, but as a mom who nearly lost her kids earlier, she just couldn’t help it.

They’d gotten lucky that time. And really, that was Helen’s fault. Hers and Bob’s because they put restrictions on how the kids could use their powers. Yes, Dash had a decent grasp on his abilities, but it was hard to go through life with enhanced durability without learning some basic control. But Violet…while she had a good grasp on her invisibility, she couldn’t always control and maintain her force fields. Maybe it was because she didn’t have faith in her abilities, or maybe she was scared, but regardless, Helen knew she hadn’t helped by telling her not to use her powers over the years, and then yelling at her to use them in the middle of an emergency. 

Helen knew it wasn’t fair to either Violet or Dash to put so much pressure on them given the fact that they had never been a situation remotely like this before, but their lives were counting on their ability to defend themselves. And all of their lives were in danger and that was probably due to whatever mess Bob had found himself in, and that bothered her so much. On their wedding day, she had told him that she needed him to trust her. _“I love you, but if we’re gonna make this work, you’ve gotta be more than Mr. Incredible. You know that. Don’t you?”_ Somehow he still couldn’t let go of that lone-wolf mentality, even after all these years. 

And so it was up to Helen Parr to figure a way out of this mess for all of them.

~*~*~

To Do in the Next Few Days

> √ 1. ~~Unpack that last box~~  
>  √ 2. ~~Try to find a leftover meatloaf recipe for dinner~~  
>  √ 3. ~~Pick the kids up from school~~  
>  √ 4. ~~Tidy up~~  
>  X 5. ~~Get Bob to help with the kids’ homework~~  
>  X 6. ~~Find a new hobby, since Bob has bowling night… No he doesn’t~~  
>  7\. Figure out a way for Dash to use up energy  
>  8\. Talk to Violet about whatever’s bothering her  
>  √ 9. ~~Buy more plates—too many have broken, and we’re out of extras~~  
>  X 10. ~~Stay calm and don’t yell at Bob when he gets home late.~~  
>  √ 11. ~~Tell Bob about how much I appreciate him working at a job he hates for our sake~~  
>  √ 12. ~~Have breakfast in bed with Bob after the kids are off to school~~  
>  √ 13. ~~Enjoy spending time with my _incredible_ husband~~  
>  √ 14. ~~Find out the truth, no matter how much it hurts.~~  
>  √ 15. ~~Figure out what ~~I did wrong~~ we did wrong~~  
>  √ 16. ~~Find my husband~~  
>  √ 17. ~~Give Bob a piece of my mind.~~  
>  X 18. ~~…Try not to yell at the kids, EVEN THOUGH THEY SNUCK ONTO THE PLANE.~~  
>  19\. Find a new place to call home  
>  20\. Figure out how to juggle being Supers and a family  
>  21\. Be happy ~~… Is this even possible anymore? Screw it. Too angry to be happy.~~

Their home was gone, their life in this particular suburban town most likely over, but none of that mattered anymore, because they had survived. Her family was all in one piece and they were together in a way that was new to them. For the first time, her kids understood what it was like to struggle with balancing saving the world and being a family. They finally knew why it was so important to avoid using their powers in public, and it almost felt like the kids appreciated everything they had been through as a family over the last few years.

It was almost surreal to think about everything that had occurred over the past few hours, let alone the past couple days. Helen was amazed that things had worked out well for her family when it seemed like all hope was lost at more than one point in time. 

While punching Mirage had of course been a highlight of the day (making up for the last few days of uncertainty regarding her marriage) that actually wasn’t the most memorable part of the day. Bob’s apology to the family for failing to appreciate the life they had together definitely made it into the top three events of the day. Helen felt an almost overwhelming sense of relief as he spoke about how much he loved them and how he finally realized that, as he put it, “ _You are my greatest  adventure.”_

Her relief was surpassed by pride just moments later when Violet and Dash used their abilities to free the entire family. Seeing her kids embracing their Super selves and fighting alongside them was both awe-inspiring and terrifying. Helen was so scared that one wrong move would take her family away from her, much like the plane crash earlier had attempted to. Because of that, knowing that Bob shared her worries to the extent that he was willing to take on the enemy single-handedly to protect them actually helped her to think rationally and realistically about what action would save her family.

Fighting together was the right course of action to take, and thwarting Syndrome’s plans was only possible because her family and Frozone worked as a team. It was a new experience for both Helen and Bob, as both Supers had predominantly worked alone for most of their careers. But fighting alongside their kids and best friend felt right in a way that they had never expected—in a weird way, it almost felt as though their family was finally whole, as if a void that had existed previously had now vanished. 

Maybe that’s why Helen remembered almost nothing from their final encounter with Syndrome. Everything was just a blur of emotion: panic, anger, fear, terror, horror, and then determination. Once again, her family joined forces to rescue Jack-Jack from Syndrome, only this time they did so with some unexpected help from the baby himself. No one could have predicted that Jack-Jack would come into his powers so suddenly, let alone have them manifest in so many different ways. 

Between her ability to stretch into a parachute, and Violet’s ability to generate another force field big enough to protect all of them, Helen’s family was safe and sound. Temporarily homeless, though from what Rick said, with Syndrome’s assets frozen prior to his death, the government would likely be able to help relocate them to another household, or neighborhood, while still allowing them to enjoy the lives they’d built for themselves. And Rick even hinted that maybe, just maybe there would be a place for The Incredibles to help the world again soon. 

It looked like things would be different this time around, but one thing was clear: the Supers were back. And the world needed them just as much as they ever had.

~*~*~

To Do in the Next Few Minutes

> √ 1. ~~Unpack that last box~~  
>  √ 2. ~~Try to find a leftover meatloaf recipe for dinner~~  
>  √ 3. ~~Pick the kids up from school~~  
>  √ 4. ~~Tidy up~~  
>  X 5. ~~Get Bob to help with the kids’ homework~~  
>  X 6. ~~Find a new hobby, since Bob has bowling night… No he doesn’t~~  
>  √ 7. ~~Figure out a way for Dash to use up energy~~  
>  √ 8. ~~Talk to Violet about whatever’s bothering her~~  
>  √ 9. ~~Buy more plates—too many have broken, and we’re out of extras~~  
>  X 10. ~~Stay calm and don’t yell at Bob when he gets home late.~~  
>  √ 11. ~~Tell Bob about how much I appreciate him working at a job he hates for our sake~~  
>  √ 12. ~~Have breakfast in bed with Bob after the kids are off to school~~  
>  √ 13. ~~Enjoy spending time with my _incredible_ husband~~  
>  √ 14. ~~Find out the truth, no matter how much it hurts.~~  
>  √ 15. ~~Figure out what ~~I did wrong~~ we did wrong~~  
>  √ 16. ~~Find my husband~~  
>  √ 17. ~~Give Bob a piece of my mind.~~  
>  X 18. ~~…Try not to yell at the kids, EVEN THOUGH THEY SNUCK ONTO THE PLANE.~~  
>  √ 19. ~~Find a new place to call home~~  
>  √ 20. ~~Figure out how to juggle being Supers and a family~~  
>  21\. Toss out this old, outdated to do list  
>  22\. Be happy ~~… Is this even possible anymore? Screw it. Too angry to be happy.~~

Fighting the Underminer was almost…fun! It seemed odd to think of fighting evil as a fun pastime, yet with her family by her side, Helen was enjoying it more than she did in her glory days as a solo Super. Together, The Incredibles were a force—a team—to be reckoned with.

Together, her family looked out for one another, making up for weaknesses and blindspots in an almost effortless manner. Before, Bob’s superstrength was an advantage, but it could also leave him open to attacks from behind. But with Violet there, she could take out many incoming obstacles with her force fields. They were by no means impenetrable, but everyone was much safer when she was there to watch their backs. And when she and Dash teamed up together, they were just as successful as they had been while fighting off Syndrome’s forces. As for Jack-Jack, he mostly created mayhem. They still weren’t quite sure what his power was, since it took so many forms, but he as he didn’t have any trouble controlling it, they tried not to worry about it too much.

Bob still used his powers to do the heavy lifting—often quite literally—but he took care to always keep track of where his family (and the odd friend like Frozone) was and made sure he was in a position to help the others whenever he could manage it. 

And as for Helen, she did what she had always done. Elastigirl used her stretchy powers to fight evil, she worked alongside Mr. Incredible as his equal, and she protected her children from the dangers that threatened them. Helen was Elastigirl again and with her family beside her, she felt as though nothing could go wrong. They were The Incredibles, superheroes, and a strong, united team…but more importantly, they were a family. Nothing could tear her family apart, and if something ever tried to tear them apart? Well, she was Elastigirl—she could stretch pretty far while still keeping them altogether.

~*~*~

To Do Throughout This Lifetime

> √ 1. Be Happy


End file.
